Saturday, January 26, 2013

2 estate sales today. How fun is that? I even had another person tell me that I looked familiar because we see each other at all of the sales. These 2 were in Fox River Grove. I will travel for a sale.

The first one was by Caring Transitions and it was 50% off today. I found a really cute covered container for $4 and a wind up heart box that plays music for $1. Perfect for Valentines Day. The other sale wasn't 50% off but they were willing to negotiate. I found a really neat metal (heavy) flower with a flower piece inside for $4. It is black and I'm not sure if I will paint it or not. It will definitely be a nice piece for the garden. I have so many treasures to put out into my yard that I can't wait for spring to arrive. I'm not really counting down. (Maybe just sometimes.)

Thursday, January 24, 2013

I'm still finding stuff to do inside now that the cold weather is here. More organizing and purging along with crafting. I made 4 more felt stars with the rest of the vintage pieces that I had. Austin loved the grey one so much that he kept it. He has a silver aluminum tree in his room, all year round, and he hung it on that alongside the other ornaments that he has. He is the collector! (or packrat). Now I have other treasures to look for at sales. I'll be on the lookout for pieces that will look good on the stars.

I stopped in at the Sparrows Nest in McHenry where they have lots of springlike dishes and plates. I found a really nice blue/white square pottery plate for $1.50 and a vintage made in Japan miniature leaf dish for $1.50. Both with the blue theme. I'll use them for summer decorating when I bring out the blue/white treasures. How far away is summer anyway? Wishful thinking when the weather is so cold.

There are lots of birthdays coming up in February that I am planning for. Good thing that I shop all year round for gifts. It's always fun to find something that you know the person will love and that the treasure is unique.

I did stop by the Material Girl store in Crystal Lake for their sidewalk sale. They had a lot of great fabric on sale for $4 per yard. It is a really neat store to browse in. I got some great ideas for future projects.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

So much to think about and do on a cold snowy day. I made 8 valentines with red felt, vintage flowers, ornaments and yarn. I made them in much the same way that I made the stars. I even found a paper Mother heart in gold that I attached to one of the hearts. I would love to keep them all for ME, but I won't. I love giving things away much more than I like to keep them for myself. I bought a bag full of the vintage flowers and other pieces at a garage sale a few years ago for $1 and I used most of them on the valentines. They really turned out cute.

Even though it is snowing, I am getting ready for teaching a class on Alliums (one of my favorite flowers) at Gardenfest at McHenry County College on April 6th. Registration is open now so make sure that you pick the classes that you want to attend. For those of you who don't know about it, it is an all day event of gardening classes held by the McHenry County University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners (I am starting my 6th year as a Master Gardener, yay!) and the college. It is $40 which includes lunch, lab fees are additional. It is a great event and the keynote is Bruce Spangenberg who is the Horticultural Chair and Instructor at the college. There are also great vendors to buy from. It is a great day and we have so much fun. If you live locally, plan on attending. Just contact the college for more information. It is never to early to be dreaming of spring and planting.

Tomorrow Thursday 1/24, the Material Girl store in Crystal Lake (across from the Raue Center) is having a sidewalk sale starting at 10am. I haven't been to a sale of theirs, but I'm looking forward to seeing what they have on sale. It should be a nice way to spend some warm time for a pick me up.

Monday, January 21, 2013

I first saw felt star ornaments in the Holiday magazine by Matthew Mead. I knew that I could make them with vintage pieces that I had around the house. So, since today was only 9 degrees outside, what better time to make them.

I used off white and khaki colored felt to create the vintage looking stars. I found a great star template that had rounded corners like I wanted to use. I got 3 stars per felt piece. Years ago, I bought a ring of needlepoint thread from a sale for about $2. You never know when the thread will come in handy. Today was it! I have every color imagineable. I attached vintage aluminum reflectors with the thread and then attached vintage ball tree ornaments inside of the reflectors. The balls were attached to a pipe cleaner so I put a hole through the felt and just bent the pipe cleaner to keep it attached. I then stitched around the star with the needlepoint thread and filled it with craft fiberfill. These will make great presents. Too bad I won't give them out until next Christmas.

These would make cute hanging valentine's also. I may use the yo-yo fabric and vintage buttons pieces on the valentine's. It's so much fun being creative.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

I couldn't resist making another pillow. This is another thing that I will be adding to my mom's mother's day pile. I used some more vintage yo-yo fabric circles and vintage buttons. Of course the fabric was from my garage sale finds. I love how this one turned out!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Finally an estate sale! I was starting to go stir crazy. Caring Transitions had an estate sale in Huntley. Today was half price. I spent a total of $2.50. I bought a colander for $1 (I am going to plant something in it in the spring) and a Pennsylvania tray for $1.50. That will go into my mom's mother's day package. Even though I didn't find a lot, I had a fun time. I can't wait until there are more sales.

On a side note: I stopped at the Huntley outlets today and found some good sales at Tommy Hilfiger. It is worth the trip if you need some winter clothes.

Since I was in Huntley, I thought why not stop in the Goodwill and Sweet Repeats Thrift store. I only found a Japanese Pokemon dvd for the boys at the Goodwill for $1.99. At Sweet Repeats, they were having a clothes bag sale and they were doing a bingo ball game to determine what percentage off you got on your purchase. I got 10% off. As I was walking through the store, I spotted milk glass under a silk flower arrangement. So, I lifted out the flowers and found a wonderful milk glass bowl for $12. But, since I was getting 10% off, I thought why not. It is really beautiful and I didn't have anything like it. I didn't find any chips or cracks either. I was so excited with this new addition to my milk glass collection.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

I love making pillows! I am running out of space in my house to display/use them. I will probably need to be making them for gifts soon.

I saw the cutest pillow on the front of Sew-it magazine Feb/March issue. They used yo-yo fabric for flowers. I have so many of those yo-yo's made from vintage fabric. Last summer, I bought a box full of already cut vintage fabric circles to make the yo-yo's. I also bought some already made from the Historical Society in Union during a sale. So, I used them with garage sale fabric. The fabric is a blue color with a flower pattern. I chose 3 that blended well with the vibrant pattern. I didn't use stems/leaves with this pillow. I liked the look without them. I did use vintage buttons to hold the flowers in place. My mother had sent me a tin of vintage buttons that she got at a garage sale for $1. (I showed them in a past article.) I am so happy with the look. I decided to put the pillow on the sofa with other similar colored pillows. Just a little rearranging.

I do have some other ideas for using the yo-yo's in future pillows. I want to make some yo-yo's from all of that fabric I have that is already cut. Someone took a long time to cut the circles and I want to finish it for them. I must have about 150 circles. Just enough for a few more pillows.....

Sunday, January 13, 2013

I have been wanting to make some new pillows for my living room. Every time I read a magazine, I think of pillows and colors that I want to use and make. All of the magazines are showing such wonderful colors for spring like seafoam green and pale blues. I love the colors and wanted to brighten up my living room. The pillows really did make a difference. Maybe just because they are something new. I'm happy with the look.

I have been going towards seafoam green and pale blues a lot recently. So, I went through my stash of garage sale fabrics that I had and picked the ones closest to those colors. The one pillow has blue and brown in it. I didn't want to put any trim on it because I thought the pattern was wonderful just the way it was and wanted to draw attention to the color and pattern. The other pillow has a great floral pattern with a greenish background. I found an applique piece that I had made a few years ago and used that as the focal point for my pillow. I kept these two pillows simple this time. They blend in well with the other pillows that I made.

There are two more pillows that I would like to make. I'm coming up with ideas for those, but already have the fabric picked out. I just may keep those simple also.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

I just finished putting away the Christmas treasures. It always looks so bare after. I like the change of seasons/holidays because I get to start fresh. I always have something to decorate with that adds to the decor. I put up some Valentine's items and red and pink/white doilies.

I have also been so busy purging. I have the biggest pile of stuff to sell at my garage sale and bags and bags of clothes. I'm sure that I will have so much more when the time comes for my garage sale. I have been selling on Ebay (milena2000) and have a lot listed right now. It's a great way to make some extra money for when treasure hunting begins again.

I have been redecorating and reorganizing my house. A lot in the kitchen. (The junk drawer can actually be opened and things found). I have gone through my yarn and fabric stash and have come up with some great craft ideas. As I do them, I will show you pictures. I started making snow globes to have ready for next Christmas. They are so fun to make. I need to eat more artichokes so that I can use the jars.

I have had so much fun blogging my pathtojunkentreasure. I hope you will join me for 2013 as I look for treasures. I have set up a page of tips that I hope are helpful for reorganizing and purging your household. There is no better time to renew and refresh your space then the new year. Hope your 2013 is healthy, happy and full of junkentreasure!

Hi! I'm Milena

I love all things vintage. The more rusty and chipped the better. I hunt for treasures at flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores, rummage sales and even on the side of the road. I'll share my love of gardening, knitting, sewing and collecting. Come along on my pathtojunkentreasure!

Latest Rummage Sale Finds

Goodwill Opens in Huntley

3 Rummage Sales Treasures

Austin at the Harvard Exhibit

Crochet Apron

Ethan and Austin at the Elkhorn Flea Market

Me at the Elkhorn Flea Market

Felted Purse

Milk Glass/Head Vase

Rummage Sale Finds

Milk Glass from Goodwill

New Kitchen Chair

Rhine St. General Elkhart Lake WI

Farmers Market in Elkhart Lake WI

Yarn table

Nutcracker display

Doll house display

Interiors Anew

The dresser

Garden Chairs

I'm always on the lookout for items for my garden. I especially love the old iron chairs. I have purchased a few (I actually got one for $2 at a rummage sale) and I have found a few thrown out on the curb in someone's garbage. All I do is scrub off the peeling paint with steel wool, wash them well with soap and water and then spray paint them. The only chair I have left the way I found it is the chair in my billboard. I just love how the peeling paint and patina look.

Blue garden chairs

Green garden chairs

Other blue garden chairs

My Space at Carriage House Antiques

21 E. Crystal Lake Ave Crystal Lake IL

My collections

I really love collecting hammered aluminum pieces. At one time I had over 300 pieces. Since display space is limited, I have managed to keep only the pieces that I truly love. Here is a picture of some of those pieces.